Training sessions set for New London school board members

New London - Next month, the seven members of the Board of Education will begin a series of intensive monthly training sessions that will focus on the board's roles and responsibilities, budget development and financial oversight, its relationship with city government, increased parental involvement and the direction of the school district.

The 10-month mandatory training is a result of the governance and management audit of the board and the state's intervention in the school district, which began last summer with the appointment of special master Steven Adamowski.

"We're ready to initiate this. All of you are volunteers, and most of you have to work, and you're coming to this at the end of the day," Adamowski said of the training.

The first sessions are scheduled for Feb. 1 and 2.

Adamowski said the training sessions will cost between $40,000 and $50,000, but that he has already budgeted $60,000 for the training with money provided by the state when it intervened.

"I'm very much looking forward to this, and I think you will enjoy it. I think you will feel you will become better, more effective board members as a result," Adamowski said.

Attendance at the training sessions will be "extremely important," he said.

"I want to report to the state board that this was a worthwhile, important investment," Adamowski said.

Training will be led by Julian Trevino, former chairman of the San Antonio Board of Education in Texas and a governance solutions trainer with the Center for Reform of School Systems.

According to its website, CRSS trains school district leadership teams to meet the challenges of the 21st century, improve relationships among board members, the superintendent, staff and community leaders while increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of board governance.